Developmental language disorder

Developmental language disorder
Specialty	Neurology

Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) is identified when a child has problems with language development that continue into school age and beyond. The language problems have a significant impact on everyday social interactions or educational progress, and occur in the absence of autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disability or a known biomedical condition. The most obvious problems are difficulties in using words and sentences to express meanings, but for many children, understanding of language (receptive language) is also a challenge. This may not be evident unless the child is given a formal assessment.

The field of developmental language disorders (DLD) has evolved significantly in recent years, with a move towards standardizing terminology to address confusion and improve communication. The CATALISE Consortium, composed of experts, endorsed the term "developmental language disorder" in 2017, recognizing it as a subset of language disorder within the broader spectrum of speech, language, and communication needs. This shift aimed to clarify understanding, increase public awareness, and improve access to services for affected children.^[1] Previously, various terms like "developmental dysphasia" and "developmental aphasia" were used, causing confusion by implying similarities to adult language problems caused by brain damage.^[2] Similarly, "specific language impairment" (SLI), commonly used in North America, was considered too narrow as it only focused on language issues without considering other potential difficulties children may face.